England captain Jos Buttler has hailed the decision to show Sunday’s men’s T20 World Cup Final against Pakistan on free-to-air TV in the UK.
Sky Sports, who hold the UK rights to the tournament in Australia, have agreed to share coverage of this weekend’s showpiece in Melbourne with Channel 4.
Sky did similar in 2019, when they allowed Channel 4 to share coverage of the 50-over World Cup Final at Lord’s which England won following a thrilling Super Over against New Zealand. That final drew an audience of 8.3 million and Sunday’s match, which starts at 8am UK time, is expected to attract similar numbers.
Speaking immediately after England’s crushing 10-wicket win against India in Adelaide that booked their place in the final, Buttler said: “I’d be immensely happy with that. That would be fantastic for the game in our country. As many eyes as we can get on that final will be great. It’s important we always look at ways to grow our game and showcase cricket to the next generation especially so I would really welcome that if that was possible.”
England vs Pakistan details
- Date: Sunday 13 November
- Time: 8am GMT
- Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground
- TV: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket, Channel 4
- Live stream: Sky Go for existing subscribers, NOW day pass from £11.98, All4 (log-in to free account and valid TV licence required)
England cantered to their target of 169 against India thanks to a record partnership for a T20 World Cup of 170 between Buttler and Alex Hales, who finished unbeaten on 86 from 47 balls.
The opener had only been called into the squad as an injury replacement for Jonny Bairstow after a three-year absence from international cricket following a positive recreational drugs test on the eve of the 2019 World Cup.
Buttler said: “Alex has delivered in spades. He’s immensely tough to bowl at, it was fantastic to be at the other end and watch him go about his business with such a wide range of shots. He played fantastically well.”
Buttler also hailed England’s best performance of a tournament that had previously seen them scrape into the semi-finals on net run rate and lose to Ireland in the group stage.
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“It certainly feels like it’s as close to perfect as we can get,” he said. “I don’t think we came to the tournament as anywhere near favourites. I know I’ve said that a lot at the start, but I thought we are a really dangerous team. To make it into a final is fantastic, and we’ll be doing all we can to try and win the match.”
England will hope fast bowler Mark Wood, who missed this semi-final with a hip injury, and No 3 batter Dawid Malan (groin) will be fit for the final. “We’ll wait and see,” said Buttler. “Obviously getting through to the final gives them a few more days, and we can see how they pull up and hopefully progress to be available for selection come the final.”
